How much VRAM does the Apple M2 Max (32GB) have?

The Apple M2 Max (32GB) has 32 GB of LPDDR5 with 400 GB/s memory bandwidth (unified system memory, shared between CPU and GPU).

What is the Apple M2 Max (32GB) best for?

With 32 GB of VRAM, the Apple M2 Max (32GB) is well-suited for running 7B–32B models at Q4 with room for context, making it a great all-rounder for local LLM inference.

What LLMs can the Apple M2 Max (32GB) run locally?

The Apple M2 Max (32GB) can run 43 of the 70 open-weight models tracked by CanItRun natively in VRAM at 8k context. Top options include: Llama 3.1 8B Instruct at BF16, Llama 3.2 3B Instruct at FP32, Llama 3.2 1B Instruct at FP32.

Can the Apple M2 Max (32GB) run Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?

The Apple M2 Max (32GB) does not have enough VRAM to run Llama 3.3 70B Instruct. You would need more VRAM or a lower quantization level.

Can the Apple M2 Max (32GB) run Qwen 3.6 27B?

Yes. The Apple M2 Max (32GB) runs Qwen 3.6 27B natively in VRAM at Q6_K quantization, achieving approximately 18.1 tokens per second.

Can the Apple M2 Max (32GB) run Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?

Yes. The Apple M2 Max (32GB) runs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct natively in VRAM at BF16 quantization, achieving approximately 25 tokens per second.

Apple M2 Max (32GB)

The Apple M2 Max (32GB) has 32 GB VRAM and 400 GB/s memory bandwidth. It can run 43 of our 70 tracked models natively in VRAM at 8k context.

With 32 GB LPDDR5, the Apple M2 Max (32GB) is a laptop-tier GPU that can run 43 models natively. It handles 70B-class models at Q4 quantization.

Apple M2 Max (32GB): 32GB at 400 GB/s — base M2 Max.

14B at Q4 native. 27B tight. ~6-10 t/s for 14B.

Same as other M2 Max.

Vendor	Apple
Architecture	Apple M2 Max
CPU cores	12 (8P + 4E)
VRAM	32 GB (unified)
Memory type	LPDDR5
Memory bandwidth	400 GB/s
Compute backend	METAL
Tier	Laptop
Released	2023
Models (native)	43 / 70
Models (offload)	0 / 70

Software: MLX gives the best performance on Apple Silicon; llama.cpp Metal backend is a solid alternative. Both are well-supported by Ollama.

Popular models for this GPU

Mixtral 8x7B Instruct v0.1 Command-R 35B Qwen 3.5 35B-A3B (MoE)Qwen 3.6 35B Yi 1.5 34B Chat

Models this GPU runs natively in VRAM (43)

Too large for this GPU (27)

Frequently asked questions

How much VRAM does the Apple M2 Max (32GB) have?: The Apple M2 Max (32GB) has 32 GB of LPDDR5 with 400 GB/s memory bandwidth (unified system memory, shared between CPU and GPU).
What is the Apple M2 Max (32GB) best for?: With 32 GB of VRAM, the Apple M2 Max (32GB) is well-suited for running 7B–32B models at Q4 with room for context, making it a great all-rounder for local LLM inference.
What LLMs can the Apple M2 Max (32GB) run locally?: The Apple M2 Max (32GB) can run 43 of the 70 open-weight models tracked by CanItRun natively in VRAM at 8k context. Top options include: Llama 3.1 8B Instruct at BF16, Llama 3.2 3B Instruct at FP32, Llama 3.2 1B Instruct at FP32.
Can the Apple M2 Max (32GB) run Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?: The Apple M2 Max (32GB) does not have enough VRAM to run Llama 3.3 70B Instruct. You would need more VRAM or a lower quantization level.
Can the Apple M2 Max (32GB) run Qwen 3.6 27B?: Yes. The Apple M2 Max (32GB) runs Qwen 3.6 27B natively in VRAM at Q6_K quantization, achieving approximately 18.1 tokens per second.
Can the Apple M2 Max (32GB) run Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?: Yes. The Apple M2 Max (32GB) runs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct natively in VRAM at BF16 quantization, achieving approximately 25 tokens per second.